Mool Raj Mathur Turns 90, Renews His Driver’s License for Five Years

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ARLINGTON, MA—When Mool Raj Mathur came to Boston in 1957, there were less than two dozen Indian families living in Greater Boston. This month, Mr. Mathur is celebrating his 90^th birthday. Also, he was the first subscriber of INDIA New England News.

Born on Nov. 9, 1927, Mr. Mathur is full of energy, very active in the Indian-American community and always introduces himself as “90 years young.”A metallurgist by training, he specialized in the area of high temperature ceramics.  His driver’s license was recently renewed for five years.

Mr. Mathur is the founding member of many community associations, including Hindu Society of North Carolina in Raleigh, United India Association in New England, Golden Club, and The Eternal Quest Forum. He has also been active member of India Association of Greater Boston.

Mr. Mathur also has many other accomplishments:

• He was one of the youngest graduates of Delhi University, getting his B.Sc degree at the age of 16.
• During college days, he was active in the Quit India movement.
• He was nationally ranked India No. 4 Badminton Champion.
• He served as chief chemist and plant superintendent at Coca-Cola, India’s first bottling plant in New Delhi.

After having worked for India’s independence movement, the idea of moving to England did not appeal to him. Instead, he came to United States in a ship, and enrolled at Boston’s Northeastern University to complete prerequisites for a Masters, and settled in Boston.

On the request of his father, Mr. Mathur briefly returned to India and took up a job with Bengal Enamels in Calcutta. Eventually, he came back to the United States. He had a brief stint at a firm in North Carolina where he co-founded Hindu Society of North Carolina with Dr. G.D. Sharma.

But in those days, he had no idea that the founding of the Hindu Society would be viewed suspiciously by his employer. When his boss read about it in the newspaper he questioned Mr. Mathur’s intentions and asked if he was a Hindu Missionary who had come to convert the Christians.  He moved to Arlington, MA, and has lived there for the last 30 years.

Mr. Mathur credits yoga to his long and active life.He had suffered from a heart attack over a decade ago but because of Yoga, his recovery was remarkable and it also helped him handle stress. He is very proud of his three children and nine grandchildren.

What is Mr. Mathur’s advice to young generation? It the same what his father gave him: “Respect everyone.  Work is worship.  Religion is very important and knowing and understanding your heritage will help you know your identity. Always be willing to shoulder responsibility. The greater the responsibility you shoulder the better the person you will be.”

His advice for enjoying golden years?  “Keep the mind and body as active as possible and ontinue to do Yoga.”

“If you can give two minutes of solace to your fellow beings then you will always be at peace, for you have served God’s creations albeit for an instant,” Mr. Mathur’s father told to him, and it has been his life’s motto ever since.